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Industrial Controllers
Industrial Controllers
Industrial Controllers
PRODUCT FLYER
Industrial Controllers
CONTENTS
Industrial Controllers
Detailed View of Industrial Controllers
Key Features
Integrated Software
Vision Software
Hardware Services
ProcessorUp to 2.2 GHz 5th Gen Intel Core Rugged, fanless design with up to 0 C to
i7 dual-core processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, 55 C operating temperature
64 GB storage
Up to 4 GigE PoE, 2 USB 3.0, 4 USB 2.0,
FPGAUp to Kintex-7 160T for custom I/O 2 DisplayPort, 1 RS232/RS485, and 1
timing, synchronization, control, and image network port
processing
OSWindows Embedded Standard 7
Open connectivity so you can use the camera and NI Linux Real-Time
vendor of your choice
NI Industrial Controllers give you the ideal connectivity for communication and synchronization to Time
Sensitive Networking (TSN)-enabled CompactDAQ chassis, EtherCAT and Ethernet CompactRIO
chassis, EtherCAT motion drives, GigE Vision and USB3 Vision cameras, and other automation
equipment. In addition, this controller has onboard ISO, TTL, and differential digital I/O, so it can perform
synchronization and control tasks without additional tethered I/O.
You can use LabVIEW system design software to create, debug, and deploy logic to NI Industrial
Controllers through hundreds of prewritten libraries for analysis, control, logging, motion, and image
processing. With these validated software libraries, you can reduce the time you spend piecing together
software components from different vendors and troubleshooting compatibility issues.
1.9 GHz Quad-Core 1.9 GHz Quad-Core 1.9 GHz Dual-Core 1.8 GHz Dual-Core 2.2 GHz Dual-Core
Processor
Intel Atom Intel Atom Intel Celeron Intel i5 Intel i7
RAM Size 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 8 GB 8 GB
Onboard Storage Up to 32 GB Up to 32 GB Up to 32 GB 4 GB Up to 64 GB
FPGA Spartan-6 LX25 Spartan-6 LX25 Kintex-7 160T Kintex-7 160T Kintex-7 160T
8 ISO In, 8 ISO Out, 8 ISO In, 8 ISO Out, 8 ISO In, 8 ISO Out, 8 ISO In, 8 ISO Out, 8 ISO In, 8 ISO Out,
Industrial I/O
8 TTL, 2 DIFF QE 8 TTL, 2 DIFF QE 8 TTL, 2 DIFF QE 8 TTL, 2 DIFF QE 8 TTL, 2 DIFF QE
IEEE 1588 Software Timed Software Timed Hardware Timed Hardware Timed Hardware Timed
0 C to 55 C (IP20)
Temperature Range 0 C to 55 C 0 C to 55 C 0 C to 55 C 0 C to 55 C
0 C to 45 C (IP67)
17.4 cm 9.3 cm
10.8 cm 6.1 cm 10.8 cm 6.1 cm 17.4 cm 9.3 cm 17.4 cm 9.3 cm 16.8 cm (IP20)
Size
13.0 cm 13.0 cm 16.8 cm 16.8 cm 32.1 cm x 9.3 cm x
19.3 cm (IP67)
IC-3121
IC-3173 (IP67)
Figure 1. Use the heterogeneous architecture of the Industrial Controller to meet your processing needs.
Processor
NI Industrial Controllers contain up to a 2.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 high-performance processor with
lower power consumption in an industrial form factor.
FPGA
The onboard FPGA options include Xilinx Spartan-6 LX25 or Kintex-7 160T. Though you can use either
FPGA for tasks such as high-speed control and custom timing and triggering, the Kintex-7 is the ideal
choice for co-processing, especially for image processing applications.
Embedded Block
FPGA Flip-Flops 6-Input LUTs DSP48 Slices
RAM (kb)
FPGA Co-Processing
In an FPGA co-processing architecture, the FPGA and CPU work together to share the processing load.
This architecture is most commonly used with GigE Vision and USB3 Vision cameras because their
acquisition logic is best implemented using a CPU. After acquiring the image using the CPU, you send
the image to the FPGA via DMA so the FPGA can perform operations such as filtering or color plane
extraction. Then you can send the image back to the CPU for more advanced operations such as optical
character recognition (OCR) or pattern matching. In some cases, you can perform all the processing
Figure 2. In FPGA co-processing, you acquire images using the CPU and then send them to the FPGA via DMA so
the FPGA can perform operations.
Using the FPGA as a co-processor for machine vision applications can significantly decrease the
processing time for a particular algorithm. Because FPGAs are massively parallel in nature, they can offer
significant performance improvements, in some cases more than 10X, over CPUs for certain algorithms.
GigE Vision
NI Industrial Controllers feature up to four PoE ports per controller, each with dedicated bandwidth. If you
require more than four GigE Vision cameras, you can use a hub to connect additional cameras with
shared bandwidth.
USB3 Vision
In addition to GigE Vision ports, NI Industrial Controllers feature up to two dedicated bandwidth USB 3.0
ports for connecting USB3 Vision cameras. Furthermore, NI is one of the few vendors that offer cable
retention on USB 3.0 ports, which increases the reliability of the connection in industrial environments.
FPGA-Enabled I/O
NI Industrial Controllers give developers the ability to use the onboard FPGA for more powerful I/O. The
controllers include a prebuilt FPGA personality called Vision RIO, which is a turnkey IP set that allows you
to take advantage of FPGA-enabled I/O without ever having to program the FPGA. Vision RIO allows you
to configure a queue of pulses, set line states, and enable hardware-timed IEEE 1588, so, without FPGA
programming knowledge, you can achieve a reliable, hardware-timed method of synchronizing I/O with
visually inspected parts. Using the Vision RIO API, you can configure several different scenarios,
including triggered acquisition with multiple encoder- and proximity-controlled ejectors, and manage
ejectors controlled with PLC-issued timestamps.
Beyond the Vision RIO API, you can also take advantage of the LabVIEW FPGA Module to develop
custom, application-specific IP to meet your unique application needs.
Advanced Synchronization
NI Industrial Controllers offer advanced synchronization capabilities. With support for both hardware-
timed IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and Time Sensitive Networking, Industrial Controllers are
ideal for a wide range of industrial and machine vision applications.
IC-317x Industrial Controllers take IEEE 1588 synchronization a step further by allowing the onboard
user-programmable FPGAs timebase to be steered to the IEEE 1588 master clock (see Figure 5). With
this architecture, you can synchronize custom I/O on the FPGA to the master clock. This is useful to
synchronize system components that may not have IEEE 1588 support such as a PLC or USB3 Vision
camera.
Figure 5. The FPGA is synchronized to the IEEE 1588 master clock in IC-317x Industrial Controllers.
Finally, IC-317x Industrial Controllers support IEEE 802.1AS and IEEE 1588; they can act as bridges
between fully Time Sensitive Networks and more traditional IEEE 1588 networks. This ability to
synchronize devices across multiple technologies provides maximum system flexibility.
Figure 6. Three key IEEE 802.1 projects being added to standard Ethernet
TSN is a key enhancement for industrial applications such as process and machine control. They need
low communication latency and minimal jitter to meet their closed-loop control requirements. With the
ability to schedule traffic across an Ethernet network via system configuration software, you can reliably
send both deterministic data and best effort data across a shared Ethernet cable. Time-based
synchronization over Ethernet also minimizes the cabling traditionally found in physical systems test and
monitoring applications, which leads to a cleaner and more cost-effective solution. Together with several
other Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) members, NI has been hard at work to bring TSN to life as the
first fully open, standard, and interoperable way to fulfill these requirements.
Take advantage of TSN today with three TSN-enabled NI products: CompactRIO Controller with TSN,
Ethernet CompactDAQ Chassis with TSN, and the Industrial Controller with TSN. Find these TSN-
enabled products by looking for the Synchronization attribute in the online Shop.
Ruggedness
NI Industrial Controllers are designed, tested, and validated according to stringent design practices to
ensure reliable operation in harsh industrial environments. These controllers can meet demanding
requirements for performance, operating temperature, ingress protection, and vibration while delivering
unrivaled control and data acquisition capabilities in a compact, rugged package. They feature an
operating temperature range of up to 0 C to 50 C, 50 g shock and 5 g vibration ratings, ingress
protection up to IP67, redundant power supply inputs, and a variety of international safety, HazLoc, and
environmental certifications and ratings for operation in harsh industrial environments.
Figure 9. NI Linux Real-Time targets allow you to develop, deploy, and debug C/C++ code using Eclipse or your IDE
of choice.
Faster Development and Deployment Vision Builder AI allows you to develop powerful machine
vision applications. Using the menu-driven environment, you can focus on algorithm development instead
of programming.
Advanced Decision Making With the built-in State Diagram Editor, digital I/O, and industrial
communications, you can deploy your Vision Builder AI application into the rest of your automated
system.
Fully Tested Toolchain The scalability of Vision Acquisition Software coupled with third-party camera
support provides an open and fully tested infrastructure that saves time and money.
Saved Development Time Use real data to develop your algorithms. Import or acquire test images
directly into Vision Builder AI.
Customizable Algorithms See the results of each function in your algorithm and tweak your algorithm
each step of the way.
Built-In Productivity Tools Develop algorithms faster with tools for template generation, OCR training,
pattern matching, and more.
Design Complete Systems Expand your application beyond just vision. Incorporate motion control,
I/O, and HMIs in your design.
Massive Parallelism FPGAs are parallel in nature, so they are ideally suited for vision applications.
Parallelizing your algorithm decreases processing time, reduces latency, and increases overall
throughput.
Infinite Customizability FPGA-based image processing is implemented pixel by pixel, giving you the
opportunity to customize your algorithm to meet your exact requirements.
No FPGA Experience Needed You can develop high-performance FPGA-based vision algorithms the
same way you do for a CPU-based design. You do not need to know traditional FPGA design tools.
Figure 12. Developing an algorithm in a configuration-based tool for FPGA targets with integrated benchmarking cuts
down on the time spent waiting for code to compile and accelerates development.
Once users are satisfied with their algorithm, the Vision Assistant can be used to generate LabVIEW or C
code ready for deployment on the hardware controller of their choice. Here users can easily modify the
generated code to integrate it with other parts of your system.
Extended Repair NI restores your devices functionality and includes firmware updates and
Coverage factory calibration.
System
NI technicians assemble, install software in, and test your system per your
Configuration,
custom configuration prior to shipment.
Assembly, and Test1
System Return
NI accepts the delivery of fully assembled systems when performing repair
Material
services.
Authorization (RMA)1
Calibration Plan NI performs the requested level of calibration at the specified calibration
Standard Expedited3
(Optional) interval for the duration of the service program.
1
This option is only available for PXI, CompactRIO, and CompactDAQ systems.
2
This option is not available for all products in all countries. Contact your local NI sales engineer to confirm availability.
3
Expedited calibration only includes traceable levels.
Technical Support
Every NI system includes a 30-day trial for phone and e-mail support from NI engineers, which can be
extended through a Software Service Program (SSP) membership. NI has more than 400 support
engineers available around the globe to provide local support in more than 30 languages. Additionally,
take advantage of NIs award winning online resources and communities.
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10 October 2017